The millennials are considerably different than their baby boomer parents. They are far more ambitious and want much more from their lives. For instance, they do not comply with the traditional ways of working with one employer until retirement or compromising with their work-life balance. They also want to have a constant dialogue about their development and want to climb the corporate ladder more quickly. In the current scenario, this generation, born between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s, forms a significant portion of the workforce at an organisation. As companies work hard for retaining and hiring millennials, they often meet fresh challenges that throw them a curve.

Let’s look at a few strategies that can help your organisation nail down this problem of millennial hiring.

1. Have a positive and wider online presence

Millennials spend almost 27 hours a week using online media. They do everything right from ordering their food to booking their rides using their phones. Millennials trust user-driven content, and the situation is no different when it comes to applying for a job. They prefer reading feedback on employer review sites before making their decisions. They research these sites to understand what the current and previous employees are saying about the pay scale, benefits and the work culture of an organisation. While positive reviews may give them strong reasons to apply, negative comments may dissuade them from going ahead with their application.

So, how to hire millennials? For starters, you will have to make it a priority to have a positive and broader online presence of your organisation. You can even have a dedicated person to evaluate and respond to online reviews. There are several reviews out there that are entirely untrue or do not come from a past or current employee. In such cases, you can report them and have them removed. Secondly, as an employer, you get the opportunity to respond to these reviews. Your official reply will communicate a sense of responsibility to the readers. State a few action items that you will undertake to resolve the negative opinions and reviews.

Lastly, these reviews can work as inputs for your HR initiatives. They are not very different from exit feedback as they can give you insights about your company’s culture. If the reviews have a common sentiment, you must treat it as an opportunity to learn and grow.

2. Offer a comprehensive package

Millennials are competitive, but they don’t value money much while accepting a job offer. They appreciate intangibles that a company has to offer. For instance, they will be more keen on benefits like extended paternity leave than perks like a car allowance. They look for a job that offers flexibility and work-life balance. They believe they should get paid leaves or the flexibility to leave on time if they perform well. Besides, this generation is also waking up to the issue of mental health and appreciate an organisation that supports this cause. Other than this, you can also offer better experiences within the office premises like beer bashes, cooking classes, yoga etc. for attracting millennials to your company. In short, as an employer, you need to talk their language to connect on a deeper level.

3. Personal and professional growth

Millennials are more willing to join an organisation that allows them to grow and invest in their growth. Millennials are liberal and not averse to taking risks. It is the main reason why so many of them are turning into entrepreneurs. They are more prepared to change their career paths if they see an opportunity.

Give them the chance to grow both vertically as well as laterally. Another thing that may help you is to understand that they do not respond well to the traditional way of receiving feedback two times a year. They want more consistent and constructive feedback discussions with their managers. It is even better if they can get a mentor who can guide them to grow in their roles. They feel more engaged and productive when they are moving forward and making progress. It may even help to support them financially for higher studies. With these changes, you will not only succeed at attracting millennials to your company but also win their loyalty.

4. Transform your work culture

Gone are the days when employees would punch in their cards or work minimum hours a week or were comfortable with hierarchy in their organisation. An open and flexible culture matters more to a millennial in the workforce.

Transform into a more casual culture where employees can move beyond hierarchies. You can also try to make your office space more inviting and comfortable. Encourage open discussions on an internal platform. Furthermore, millennials do not like being restricted to formal workwear. Allow them to wear business casuals on more days to see a difference. Try to build a culture of trust and self-management.

Millennials are a generation that takes its own decisions and dislikes micro-management. They will also be more attracted to a workplace that gives them the liberty to work from remote locations and deliver at their chosen hours.

As per a Linkedin survey, the number one thing millennials want to know about your company is your culture and values. The survey also found that a staggering 93% of millennials are open to hearing about job opportunities, and 66% are willing to talk to a recruiter. It will help to include your culture and values in the first-time conversations to develop their interest in your organisation.

5. EmbraceTransparency

Millennials like transparency and appreciate being involved in strategy discussions. They also want to know how they are instrumental in their organisation’s growth. You can achieve this by communicating frequently and holding town hall discussions with the C-suite leaders.

As per a survey by LinkedIn, millennials like to work under strong leadership. 87% of the respondents said it matters to them if they can take pride in their employer. 70% of ones who said they weren’t proud of their organisations cited weak leadership for their negative answer. They will gain more confidence in their leaders if they can get free access to them and know what they are thinking about the future.

6. Change your recruitment process

Modifying your recruitment process and adopting a customer-centric approach can help you significantly in hiring millennials. They like to be treated as customers as they are shopping around for jobs. These talented individuals know their value in the market and may lose interest if they are not engaged.

Firstly, they do not like lengthy or cumbersome application processes. Moreover, they prefer to be engaged right from the first phone call until they are on-boarded. Recruiters are under so much pressure of transactional work that they hardly get the time to invest in building relationships.

You can resolve this problem by using AI-powered tools to enhance your hiring experience. For instance, chatbots can answer applicant queries and provide all the right information. Applicants won’t have to wait for the recruiter to return their calls if they want to know something. Moreover, these tools can send them constant updates about the status of their application. Impress provides such tools that can not only ensure a better candidate experience but also reduce your recruiters’ workload.

7. Innovate

Millennials appreciate more efficient and streamlined processes. They prefer having information on their fingertips instead of having to contact someone and waiting for their response. It means you may have to revamp your finance, operations and HR processes. Provide your employees with a platform that supports self-service. Having information on their desktops will not only engage them but also enhance their productivity. You can also adopt the mobile-first trend. If there is an app for learning or improving processes, millennials are more likely to use it instead of the traditional methods.

Apart from these, millennials appreciate genuine workplaces. They will see through it if an employer does not walk the talk. If you promise them something in your vision or mission and do not adhere to it, they are likely to get disappointed by that. To attract them, give them a complete package of attractive benefits, offer them an open culture and show your genuine interest in their growth. They will not only join your organisation but even spread a good word about you in their respective networks.